By DEBORAH MEDENBACH
Times Herald-Record
Published:
5:01 PM - 07/13/12
Last updated: 5:07 PM - 07/13/12
Byrdcliffe soothed the brain-numbing dehumanization of the industrial age with a surge of handmade crafts. A century later, the Tweet-glazed patina of technology washes from the soul in a three-day celebration of art, dance, film and wordcraft.
The first Byrdcliffe Festival of the Arts brings together 17 local arts groups for a weekend of day and evening performances.
"We wanted to offer a smorgasbord of art delights where people who might like rock music but not often see dance performances could experience both," said School of Rock founder Paul Green, who teamed up with Byrdcliffe's new director Matthew Leaycraft to bring the project to fruition.
"We have a fantastic entertainment lineup for this," Green said, with "special guests" being added daily. A coup of sorts was to have Gene Ween sign on for the role of Judas in Green's rock-star-laced production of "Jesus Christ Superstar." The cast includes three versions of Jesus.
"Connor Kennedy, one of the hottest new musicians out there, will be doing a show of all-original music," adds Green. "Tracy Bonham has been amazing in any show I've seen her in."
The Woodstock Film Festival brings the New York premiere of the BCDF Pictures film "Why Stop Now?" at the Upstate Films Woodstock theater on Tinker Street.
"Of course we will have producer Claude Dal Farra and perhaps some of the cast members," said Woodstock Film Festival founder Meira Blaustein. "There are so many deep connections to the area with this film, and we're very happy to bring this BCDF Film forward." A post-screening panel discussion includes screenwriter Philip Dorling, whose short film version was screened at the Film Festival in 2008 and was developed into a feature film with the help of Academy-Award-nominated screenwriter Ron Nyswaner.
"For the panel discussion afterwards, we'll also have filmmaker/director Griffin Dunne and perhaps Larry Fessenden of Glass Eye Pix and Vincent D'Onofrio,"
Blaustein said.
Pianist Justin Kolb opens up the world of opera with what he dubs "an informance" with renowned opera singers Maria Todaro, Louis Otey and Kerry Henderson in "An Unusual Night at the Opera," presented by the Phoenicia International Festival of the Voice.
"This is one instance where the audience will have an opportunity to ask questions of the opera singers throughout the event," Kolb said. "It's upbeat and unpretentious. We read the audience and spin it from there."
Leaycraft built the festival from a strong core of nine arts organizations and formed partnerships with new groups, snowballing into a list of performers that will expand right up until the doors open on Friday.
"We're honoring the spirit of the Byrdcliffe Arts Colony in a contemporary manifestation," Leaycraft said. "The spontaneous quality makes it very healthy, highly motivated and gives performers a chance to reach new audiences."
IF YOU GO!
What: Byrdcliffe Festival of the Arts
When: July 13-15; opening reception is at 6 p.m. Friday at the Kleinert-James Center for the Arts, 36 Tinker St., Woodstock
Where: Byrdcliffe Arts Colony, Kleinert-James Center for the Arts, Colony Cafe, Upstate Films Woodstock and other venues
Price: $100 (full festival ticket); $20 (most individual events)
[Some of this may be redundant to those of you who have seen the information already, but I wanted to have it archived here because of it being previously lost from my other site.]
Below, I made some collages of before and after from set to finished product...
BOB'S HOUSE BEING CONSTRUCTED AND BELOW HIS HOUSE ON FILM FROM TRAILER
BOB'S 'DUNGEON' IN AN ARTIST'S DEPICTION AND BELOW BOB AND RABBIT ON FILM
SET PHOTO OF BOB'S 'ARSENAL' AND BELOW SCREEN CAPS OF 'KNIVES IN ACTION'
SET PHOTOS OF BOB'S VICTIMS IN GARBAGE BAGS AND DUCT TAPE AND ON FILM
ON JUNE 3, 2011, VINCENT APPEARED ON THE TV SHOW 'GOOD THINGS UTAH' TO PROMOTE THE UTAH METH COPS PROJECT CHARITY EVENT AND AT THE END OF THIS VIDEO HE TALKS ABOUT 'RABBIT' AND HIS CHARACTER BEING THE DARKEST ROLE HE HAS EVER PORTRAYED...
OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE...
DAWN SCOTT, JULIA ORMOND'S STAND IN, HAD THIS TO SAY, JULY 5, 2011...
'Okay. So, when I was standing in for Julia Ormond on Sunday, it was a hot hot day. Everyone got burned and some to the point of blistering. Julia was kind enough to approach me, shake my hand and introduce herself. I introduced myself and told her it was a pleasure to meet her. She has the most beautiful eyes. Vincent D'Onofrio caught me off gaurd when he approached the tent we were sitting in to say "hi" to everyone. I just smiled and wiggled my fingers his way as I didn't immediately recognize him. When I got a better look and realized who he was, I excused myself from the tent (with a little encouragement from the Producer David Buelow), as I don't think it was appropriate for me to be in there at the same time. The next day when I was sitting in the back of the prop taxi cab that they are using for the movie, I was staring blankly out the window when I heard someone throw something into the cab through the driver side window and then they said good morning. I slowly turned my attention towards the direction of the voice and boom, there's Vincent staring at me having just placed his jacket on the seat. I jumped a little bit when I seen who it was and laughed as it is the second time he has caught me off guard and quickly said, "Oh hi! I was day dreaming!" He smiled slightly and walked off. HeHe I find him rather curious. Then much later in the day when I was leaning over the side of a pickup truck he came to the other side to be "jacketed." He stopped to look my way and said very calmy, "How are you doing today?" Finally...not having been caught of guard I was able to politely reply, "Very well thank you." Definately a very interesting man. He seems to offer so little with words, but his actions and his face say so much! I am definately looking forward to working with him on the 14th. I'm actually really excited now that I have met him. I spent the day hanging out with Josh Strait. He's really a terrific guy. Very easy to be around and so full of life. He's the stand in for Vincent in this movie.'
FROM 'DISCOVER MOOSE JAW', ON JULY 7, 2011, DETAILS OF FILMING LOCALES WERE DISCUSSED, AND IF YOU CLICK ON THE ABOVE LINK YOU CAN ACCESS A 5 MINUTE AUDIO INTERVIEW WITH THE PRODUCER, DAVID BEULOW...
'Film crews are back in Moose Jaw as our city plays host to another movie.
The cameras started rolling on the weekend for "Rabbit". Envision Media Arts out of Los Angeles is working on the psychological thriller starring Vincent D'Onofrio from Full Metal Jacket and most recently, Law and Order: Criminal Intent along with Julia Ormond from Legends of the Fall.
Producer David Buelow says the story follows a serial killer who kidnaps a boy and raises him like a son.
"We're filming actually in a rural area and we're using a house on a farm. It's very remote and this is where the killer lives. We're filming some back roads there. Then we're also doing some stuff in more upscale neighbourhoods for the next couple of days in Moose Jaw at some of the nicer houses. We're filming both the exterior and interior of those homes in Moose Jaw and then at least in one of the garages," said Buelow.
Filming will continue in Moose Jaw for about a week before shifting to Regina. Rabbit is expected to be released to theatre sometime next year.'
From left: Shane Daly, cinematographer, Jennifer
Lynch, director, and Damian O'Donnel, screenwriter, pose on the Moose Jaw set of
the film Rabbit. Times-Herald photo by Samuel Dobrin.
Beware all Moose Javians! A psychotic, serial-killing cab driver is on the lose and he may be on his way to pick you up.
But don’t worry, it’s only a movie.
Rabbit, directed by Jennifer Lynch and starring Vincent D’Onofrio (Law & Order) and Julia Ormond (Legends of the Fall), is a psychological thriller about a serial killer (D’Onofrio) who kidnaps and raises a young boy to become his protégé. The boy — played by rising Vancouver star Evan Bird — has to make a decision if he will follow in the killer’s footsteps or hold onto the humanity that he had in his previous life with his parents.
David Buelow, one of the producers of the upcoming thriller (he is joined by Lee Nelson and local producer Rhonda Baker), said the contrast of Moose Jaw and utter “vastness” of the Saskatchewan prairie was ideal for crafting the film.
“We needed a really remote house that would be on the edge of town,” he said. “Creatively, this was exactly what we were looking for.”
Buelow hopes the film will attract a wide audience.
“It’s a psychological thriller, not a horror movie,” said Buelow, who has produced films for more than a decade with Envision Media Arts. “It’ll be kind of like Silence of the Lambs or 7even.
“(D’Onofrio) plays a cab driver, who picks up his victims in the city and takes them out to his remote dwelling,” said Buelow. “I don’t want to give away the rest.”
In addition to its thematic benefits and lower-budget potential, Buelow says Moose Jaw is a very “film-friendly” city.
“The director, Jen Lynch, filmed Surveillance in Saskatchewan and really wanted to come back,” he said. “She’s a huge fan of this area.”
A Los Angeles native, this was Buelow’s first time to Moose Jaw and Saskatchewan.
“It’s just one big prairie,” he said, smiling. “In California, you can’t go anywhere without seeing a mountain.”
As for the people, Buelow says they’ve lived up to Lynch’s promise of being super friendly and co-operative.
“We hired quite a few Moose Jaw natives (25 extras) for a shoot at the Galaxy (Cinemas),” said Buelow. “They can look for themselves on the big screen. We even featured some of your mosquitoes in the movie.”
Rabbit is not the first film to be shot in Moose Jaw.
The city has played host to numerous films throughout the past 10 years, including Surveillance, Just Friends (Ryan Reynolds, Amy Smart) and Sleepwalking (Charlize Theron produced and acted).
Susanne Bell, CEO of SaskFilm and film commissioner for the province, agrees that Moose Jaw’s combination of setting, low costs and film savvy makes it ideal for filmmaking.
“There such a diversity of looks that are standing right there (in Moose Jaw),” she said. “We don’t have to build the sets. It’s just right there.”
After working with Lynch on Surveillance, Bell is really excited to have her back.
“She became a part of the Saskatchewan film fabric when she worked here,” says Bell. “We couldn’t wait to have her back.”
Rabbit is expected to release sometime in 2012.
FROM 'PERTH NOW', DECEMBER 17, 2011, DAMIAN O'DONNELL, WHO WROTE THE SCRIPT FOR 'CHAINED', SAID OF VINCENT...
O'Donnell had to pinch himself at times when he was on set in July watching D'Onofrio and Ormond perform their craft with his script.
"It is in pretty good hands," he said.
"Hearing Vincent on set . . . I can remember sitting at my desk when I was writing it, thinking, 'What the hell am I going to get this guy to say next?' And then a guy of Vincent's calibre comes along and elevates the character more than I could have imagined. He has developed this speech impediment and he has a stoop and he walks with a shuffle.
"I wrote it, I knew what he was going to say, but he still scared the shit out of me."
